Page 24 of Little Do You Know

I can’t help but smile in response to her forwardness. I know who I am, but it feels like a dick move to assume every single person knows who I am. “You sit a few rows ahead of me.”

It makes her smile that I knew that. “That was a pretty big win today. Congratulations,” Lucy says, briefly resting her hand on my arm before pulling it back. Normally, this is the time I walk away. I stopped doing this after freshman year because I didn’t like the way it made me feel. I used sex to distract myself from the grief of losing Grandpa the summer before, and the parade of girls never made it better. I’ve tried to make sex mean something since then, aside from a slip last summer. Hopefully, that slip doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass.

She’s made it clear she was interested, but maybe it’s in my best interest not to walk away. Lucy isn’t related to any of my friends, which means she’s not off limits.

“It was a team effort. Thank you, though.”

Her eyes flicker behind me where I’m positive Chris and Owen are staring at us. “Did you want to go back to your friends?”

“No, I’m okay, unless you want me to go back to them?” I offer, knowing that she won’t tell me to.

“That would defeat the purpose of sending you a drink,” she says, tilting her head. Lucy is pretty. It’s a shame I’m hung up on Thalia, or I probably would have noticed her in class.

“Lucy, what was the purpose of sending me a drink?” I play along, taking a drink of it.

Her smile is coy. “If you don’t already know, then I have got to be doing something wrong.”

I shake my head, smiling crookedly at her. “You’re not doing anything wrong.” I’ve been painfully abstinent since summer. I’m punishing myself for wanting Lia when I know why I can’t have her. There’s only a certain amount of cold showers I can take, and she’s driving me crazy.

“Do you want to get out of here?” she asks, and I respect that she’s going after what she wants.

“Sure.” I agree after a few moments of trying to decide whether this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done or the smartest.

I hear Owen and Chris call out hoots from the back as Lucy and I approach the door. I rest my hand on her back, guiding her to where my car is parked. Her lips are on mine as soon as we’re in the car.

It’s aggressive and fast paced. Exactly what I need. I might adore this car, but it doesn’t leave room for everything I want to do in it. The gearshift is digging into my thigh, and I don’t have the right angle to kiss her. I recognize the feeling behind her aggressiveness, having been there myself.

I twist away, starting my car. “Who broke your heart?”

She blinks at me in surprise. “How did you—”

“Because I know the feeling. I can drop you off at your place if that’s what you prefer?”

“I swear going home to my place is the last thing I want. You might want to start driving, or things will get a little more cramped in here.” Oh hell. I’m playing with fire, taking her back to the apartment. Her hand drops to my lap, and Lucy cups me through my jeans. My brain short-circuits, letting the need to feel something other than my hand override the logic in my brain.

The car ride feels too long. As soon as we’re in the apartment, she’s kissing me again. I throw my keys blindly in what I hope is the direction of the counter as Lucy slips a hand between our bodies, feeling how hard I am. I press my lips harder against her so I can banish any thoughts of Thalia. It’s not fair to Lucy, but we’re both using each other.

“Seems like you need this as badly as I do,” she says in between kisses as I open my bedroom door.

“You have no idea,” I say, setting her down on the bed to peel my shirt off.

CHAPTER TEN

Thalia

I’M IGNORING TEXTS from everyone, but I assumed it was only a matter of time before someone forced their way in. I expected it to be Vera, assuming Landon told her what happened. The last person I expected it to be was Sebastian. The bag of food still sits on my desk as a reminder of Sebastian’s olive branch.

I wish I had been more drunk to where I didn’t remember any of it. I haven’t been able to get the look on Landon’s face, or the shit Owen said to me afterward, out of my mind. The look of pity that Bash gave me was perhaps the most mortifying part of the night. I never wanted to let him see me cry again, and then he reached for me. Why did he reach for me after leaving me in the room with Owen? What did Sebastian think would happen when Owen told him to leave? I don’t understand any of it, and I don’t know if there’s a point in trying to figure it out. I don’t have it in me.

Maybe Penelope is right. I should climb him like a tree and get it over with. Then we can stop playing our game, coexist together, and ignore him forever after he graduates.

I can hear the front door opening from my room. I shouldn’t hold my breath, but I do. It could be Sebastian checking in on me again or Owen coming back to yell at me.

My heart stops at the sound of a girl giggling. For obvious reasons, it doesn’t belong to either of my roommates and regardless of which one it is, I don’t care to stick around to listen to their after-party.

I hastily grab my camera off my desk where I had it charging for the football game today until I didn’t go. Pulling my jacket off the back of my desk chair, I slip into flip-flops before escaping.

When I leave, Owen’s door is open, and his room is empty. Awesome. Now I really don’t want to stick around here. Hot anger overcomes me, leading me straight to where Sebastian’s keys are sitting on the counter. I might as well have a good time tonight too.

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